Saturday, January 24, 2015

I think it's safe to say that pretty much anything that takes a significant amount of effort, time, and energy is worth it.
I only auditioned for the all-state band because my director reminded me that applications were due the next day. And it was more of a 'hey you are totally doing this, right?' reminder, than a 'hey do this if you want to' kind of thing. I hadn't looked at the music because I didn't really plan on trying out. Obviously I didn't want to put in that kind of time into something I didn't want to do. But, alas I started practicing the music the day before the tryout, and totally made my lips beyond tired playing really late into the night and all morning. I finally made my audition tape, probably with my lips bleeding because of overplaying, and didn't think anything of it. (I sounded awful. don't listen to a trumpet player when their lips are tired; it's not a pretty sound)

But hey! I got a confirmation email later saying congratulations and I was so confused. What? I made it in?? What is going on? Now I really have to practice the five difficult pieces that we were going to be playing??

It wasn't a joke. I printed off the music and didn't look at it until the day of all-state. Can you tell that I'm really good at procrastinating practicing my trumpet??

The first night was a three hour rehearsal after school, and we got home around 10:00pm. We ran through each of the pieces and we didn't sound half bad! I was getting a little excited about it.

The next day we started at 9:00am and played until noon where we had a two hour break for lunch. We played for three more hours after that and had another two hour break for dinner. And after that we only had two more hours until we could go home.
Practice was long. You are taught that you're supposed to sit on the edge of the seat and keep your back perfectly straight when you are practicing. I started out that way, but by the end of the day I was leaning back on my chair and falling asleep. Whew! What a long day. The next day was the performance so we had to get all the kinks out of the music in the 8 hours that we had.

The next day my friend and I drove up to Salt Lake for our practice before the concert. We practiced and it went really well. After we were done practicing, the head honchos said we would have an hour to get something to each and chill out before the concert, but they started talking and we only had half an hour left before the performance.
My friend and I ran in our floor-length concert dresses and heels to City Creek mall that was a few blocks away. We stopped to catch our breath to look at a map and check out where the food court was and it was so far away! I slipped off my shoes and got ready to run, but we decided to just get something from a chocolate store to tied us over. We grabbed a caramel apple (an apple is healthy, right?) and we ran back so so fast.
We got back with ten minutes to spare, and right as we walked in, we realized that there was a vending machine in the room. But, I've never had such a delicious apple, so it was all worth it.

It was finally our time to perform and to warm up, the director, Dr. Fischer, did an exercise that we had been doing all week. We all closed our eyes and played notes together and listened intently around us to blend and sound pretty. As we did this, the stage melted away and it was just like we were back practicing, and not on stage at Abravenal Hall.
During the last piece, Pas Redouble (which was also my favorite), I kept thinking, wow this is really happening! It felt so surreal. Students from all around the state all came together and in two days were able to perform a song and actually sound good! Everything was so great.

We had twenty-something people represent our school in the all-state band and orchestra! We really like music at our school.

My awesome parents made sure to come to my concert and watch! They come to seriously everything and it ROCKS.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

One of my goals for all the time is to face fears.
I'm afraid of a lot of things. Trying new things, putting myself out there, failing in front of people, not doing things that I love, and the list goes on.
But a few months ago I took the plunge and decided to face my fear of playing trumpet in front of people. When I was deciding whether or not to participate in the concerto concert, I remembered volunteering for a solo in jazz band in 9th grade. I had no idea how to solo or what notes to play, but I raised my hand and went for it. It was terrifying. I was shaking before and after I played it! There was practically no one in the audience, but that didn't matter. I was still deathly afraid.
Three years later, I wouldn't think that I would be volunteering again to play a solo in front of a crowd. This time, it was purely a piece where I solo the whole time and the band plays in the background. I knew that I wouldn't be the best performer in the concert, but I still wanted to do it to prove to myself that I could do it. I chose the piece Trumpeters Lullaby because my dad loves that song and I love it cause he loves it.
We practiced all six concertos everyday in band class. I wasn't nervous in front of the band, but for the concert, man I was terrified.
I played my solo and didn't do as well as I wanted to (but really, who does their best when they're nervous?) and sat down and couldn't believe that I just did that!

I'm proud of myself, and I don't care who knows it. Yay for facing fears.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

There is a new ice skating rink that just opened up right around the corner from my high school. For mutual (a weekly church activity) we went and had a blast! We were there for an hour and half and I managed to only fall twice! (I fell right on my knee though, and I have the biggest bruise now)
I haven't been ice skating in a year or more, so as we started I was really really nervous to fall down. I was trying to skate and hold onto the side but I couldn't really get the hang of it. So I eventually just trusted myself and fell down a couple times, but got more and more confident as the night went on!
If you haven't gone outdoor ice skating yet, I totally encourage it. It is SO fun.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

I said see ya to my friend Kelly today. I met her in a sports marketing class when she was a senior and I was a junior. She laughed and smiled a lot and I knew that I wanted to be friends with her. Dante, Kelly, and I were all in that class together and we were the most obnoxious kids you could ever have in a class ever.
After the class ended, Kelly and I were still friends. I took her senior pictures and mission photos and we learned that we both are obsessed with Gilmore Girls. I love love love her.

Saying goodbye to her is hard but she will be the grandest missionary. I love her.

If you wanna take a gander of the photos I took of Kelly for her mission, check this link out!!

Saturday, January 17, 2015

We crashed PGs Save Ferris 80s themed dance. Even though we were from AF they let us in with no problem. My friend Paige brought over all the supplies to get ready and we had five girls running around the house trying to get ready for the dance. Hair dye, neon clothes, earrings, necklaces, tights, shoes, leggings, and crazy makeup was every.where. We showed up two hours late to the dance, but managed to dance our hearts out!
The entrance to the dance was kinda sketchy and so we had to ask how to get inside. Right as we went through the doors we could hear the 80s music and we didn't stop dancing until the dance ended. What a night!